She says the state will have to take several approaches to solve the problems. Decker pointed out that rural areas have different problems than the Charlotte and Research Triangle Park areas.

"You can get a great catch in the Charlotte area, but at the same time, you've got to be casting your net to get targeted catches in the more rural parts of the state," Decker said.

North Carolina is creating a public-private partnership to take over efforts to market the state to companies seeking to move. Gov. Pat McCrory has said the change will allow the state to be nimbler and more aggressive in pursuing corporate relocations.

"We're going to focus our effort on the customer with one-stop-shopping," she said.

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